How to Protect Yourself From Cybercrime
The use of the internet has changed the way people relate and has brought many benefits, but it has also resulted in some cons. One of them is cybercrime. Do you know what this is and how to protect yourself?
Cybercrime is the nomenclature given to cybercrimes that involve any activity that is considered an illegal activity or practice on the network.
Such illegal activities may involve the theft of personal data, system intrusions, virus spread, ideological misrepresentation, and access to confidential information, among others. In addition to covering conventional crimes that are carried out using electronic devices and those that include the use of some digital action as an instrument for the practice of some crime.
Given this, how to protect yourself from cybercrime? It may seem like a difficult or even impossible task. However, you can follow some precautions. Many people end up, unknowingly, browsing fake pages, and thus exposing themselves to different types of viruses.
And in addition to these viruses, there are still programs that are malicious, making you at risk of being attacked by hackers, more and more common nowadays. Another threat is that you end up becoming a victim of electronic fraud and thus have financial losses, among other disorders.
7 Tips to Protect Yourself From Cybercrime
Most people live connected to the internet, whether by notebook, computer, tablet, or smartphone, which makes them more susceptible to suffering cybercrime.
To help you protect yourself from cybercrime, André Ricardo Theodoro, coordinator of the technical course in Informatics at Senac Ead, gives some guidance.
1) Choose Your Passwords Well
It is important that when creating passwords to access your email accounts, banks, social networks, and e-commerce sites, you never use dates and license plates. Or even any other combination that is linked to you and that is easy to discover.
According to André Ricardo, the ideal is to use passwords that are considered strong, with uppercase and lowercase letters, in addition to numbers and different characters. It is also important to change passwords periodically and, under no circumstances, store them in the browser.
2) Watch Out for Phishing
Do you know what phishing means? The term refers to attempts to obtain personally identifiable information through identity suppression by criminals in computer contexts. In addition, it is considered one of the most common methods of capturing user data.
That’s because Internet users are induced to click on links that are infected by viruses. “Never open attachments or click on suspicious email links. Be wary of messages that promise easy prizes or that send photos, virtual cards, in addition to asking you to fill in forms with your data. When in doubt, contact the sender before taking any action ”, advises the specialist.
3) Pay Attention to Purchases and Bank Transactions
It is important for users to seek access to trusted online stores or to identify the supplier. The coordinator of the technical course in Informatics at Senac Ead explains that it is necessary to search for physical addresses and telephone number of the store to check if it actually exists.
It is also important to always require the invoice for the product purchased by you. Another tip from the expert is to read the privacy policy of the site to find out how the supplier will take care of the storage and handling of the data. In the case of bank transactions, the suggestion is to be even more careful.
4) Identify Which Are the Malicious Sites
It is possible to identify some signs that the sites are not safe. Some of them are pages that open different pop-ups and force these types of accesses, addresses in the browser bar that do not match the actual address of the website, sites that require installation of programs with unknown extensions.
The tip of the Senac EAD coordinator is to use a pop-up blocker with your browser. In addition to never installing these programs that are suggested by the malicious websites.
5) Pay Attention to Your Cell Phone
Perform transactions through the original applications and which have certified the banks, companies, and stores in which you intend to make your purchase. In addition, it is essential to keep a password on your smartphone in case of theft, so that you are not surprised by improper transactions.
According to André Ricardo, the ideal is that users download applications from the official stores of the operating system they use on the device. In addition, it is important to avoid using public Wi-Fi.
6) Care on Social Networks
Social networks are considered a relaxing environment, so avoid accepting invitations from people you don’t know. Also avoid sharing information that could end up exposing your life, such as photos, locations, and other personal data.
7) Protect Your Computer
It is important to keep your computer with antivirus installed and always up to date, as well as the software and the firewall. Also, always use legitimate software and avoid downloading it from unknown sources.
Tips to Protect Your Business From Cyberattacks
A threat that afflicts companies worldwide is cyber attacks. According to Symantec’s 2018 Internet Security Threats Report, crypto-jacking attacks reach 8,500%. In addition, the spread of WannaCry and Petya / NotPetya has ignited a warning about these virtual threats.
The report also points out that these threats to digital security may come from new sources, which are unexpected. This is the case with the growth of cryptocurrency miners.
